good for you, cookie. I seldom cook something like that just for myself, I am here by myself a lot, but I tend to make things like pancakes, eggs, fried rice, nothing especially good and gooey. Annie

The Bluestar was my absolute first choice. I just LOVE those burners! However, I was scared away by the many posts that described the *tinkering* factor. I'm not a tinkerer...I don't DIY, am not interested in playing with gas levels and replacing ignitors and all the other little things that many Bluestar lovers don't mind at all. It's certainly worth it for some...it is an awesome cooking machine, but I knew it wouldn't work for me. Also, I've read over and over again that the doors get quite hot! I dont' have little ones anymore, but it could be an issue for you. I really wanted induction, but after my double ovens didn't fit, decided I needed a range and wasn't willing to spurge on the mysterious Diva induction range (that no one seems to have) and DH thinks it's hideous (but boy is it powerful...it's really my dream range). DH really wanted fire so after I gave up on induction and couldn't have the Bluestar it was all about form. That's how we ended up with the Lacanche. We've had a DCS for the past 12 yrs, all 4 burners are 15K btu's. I found this to be enough power for what I do (though they can't heat a pan as quickly or evenly as induction). I don't think 12K would be enough. Have you looked at the Five Star range, comes in black, can get brass trim, highest burner is 18.5K btus. It looks pretty nice but has 6 burners, not 5.

There are only two of us, and no relatives in town...so we are going to Palm Springs for actual thanksgiving, staying at the Parker. Dinner will be at Mr. Parker's, if they actually do one (its a little unclear still). BUT, in honor of thanksgiving coming I decided to cook a turkey dish, something I rarely do. What I did was make pozole built around the idea of a traditional yucatan dish called "Pavo en Relleno Negro." The original is made with turkey stuffed with a kind of sausage meatloaf, with hard boiled eggs in the middle, which is simmered in a rich broth flavored with "Recado Negro." Recado Negro, also known as Chilmole, is a paste made primarily of charred chiles - pitch black in color. It is a very unique flavor, specific to the Yucatan - though it looks something like Oaxacan mole negro, it is completely different in flavor. Anyway, I cooked pozole in homemade turkey stock along with chopped tomato and a turkey breast. After the breast was poached, I removed it, shredded it, and then returned the meat to the pot. I also made meatballs with ground turkey, flavored with mexican oregano, thyme, bay, allspice, black pepper, and a bit of the chilmole, which I formed around hard boiled egg yolks (my wife doesn't like to eat pork; it would have been more traditional to use a pork sausage instead of the ground turkey here). These were browned and then finished by cooking in the pozole. The whole thing was enriched with a strained puree of Chile Mulatto, red sweet pepper and recado negro/chilmole.

Another fun topic. Well, until recently we did meatless main dishes a couple nights a week and the rest of the nights could be most anything like pasta, stir-fry, roasts, casseroles, tacos, pizza, typical meat/potatoes dishes, yada yada. We had been working on having more meatless meals and adding more fresh veggies but weren't fanatical about it. A recent health scare in the family has made me a fanatic so we are in flux on our meals and I feel like I'm learning to cook again from scratch as we move more fully into meatless, plant-based, whole-foods, low-fat cooking. I'm not claiming or striving to be 100% vegan. We still eat seafood. Our freezer is too full of the yumminess of salmon, halibut, clams, cod, crab, shrimp and tuna. So we're limiting seafood to 2-3 meals per week, and eliminating dairy (except a half butter/half grapeseed oil spread that we use sparingly). I feel like I'm learning to cook again. I have always made a lot of soups so now I'm just doing them without meat and using beans/lentils/dried peas instead. This means I'm playing with different seasoning blends and flavor profiles. I'm also experimenting with different bean-based fillings for things like tacos/burritos/wraps and faux-burgers/loafs. I've never been much for buying processed foods so I'm avoiding the store-bought faux-meat items and learning to make healthier versions of things like that myself. And I'm not trying to get them to taste like meat. Just as a well flavored, non-meat protein. I really don't miss meat. Wasn't that much of a fan of it anway. DH is having more of a problem with the adjustment but he's the one that needs it most so I just keep trying to find things that satisfy him. I was making a lot of our own bread before so now just bake more to eliminate store-bought and have been experimenting with how much I can add in the way of things like ground up nuts, seeds, steel-cut oats, bulgur, etc., to increase the nutritional value of the bread while still getting a nice bread for sandwiches or toasting. So my baking center isn't getting as much use as it was before for sweets but it's sure handy for getting the bread done! Breakfast is always a green smoothie, packed with greens and superfoods. DH usually also has some steel-cut oats, bulgur, muesli with nut milk, or similar to fill him up but the smoothie satisfies me until lunch. Lunch and dinner are kinda interchangeable and can be salad, soup, stir-fry, sandwich/wrap, taco/burrito, "meat" loaf, seafood dish, veggie pastas with veggie sauces (thank goodness for my spiralizer), veggie chips, hummus, etc., always with some kind of veggies whether the salad and/or a side as well. Desserts tend to be sorbets made with 100% fruit/berries but I'm ready to branch out. I made my first black-bean brownies a week ago. Pretty good but I think Laughable's suggestion for the non-baked ones sounds even better. Will try that next. I'm trying out a lot of different types of vegetables that I've never bought before. I've had to laugh at myself when I've gotten home with something I can't identify. Seriously. I need to take photos of the sign at the store to help me remember. Menus vary depending on what veggies I have on hand, what looks like it's starting to turn and needs eaten NOW, and such. I read recipes online like crazy for ideas but I rarely have all the exact same ingredients so I do a lot of substituting and experimenting to see what works and what doesn't. I don't think I've ever made anything the same way twice but I'm having fun with it Fearless in the kitchen, that's me, lol. Side benefits. I just plain feel better eating this way. I used to have a lot of heartburn and other gastro-intestinal problems. Gone. Nada! No odd headaches out of the blue either. I've always been one that has to practically starve myself to lose weight. Yup, even when I'm training for long bike rides and alpine scrambling. And now all my clothes are getting loose without me starving myself or even being hungry at all. I'm quite satiated. And I don't have any cravings for sweets which is crazy because I have always had the ultimate sweet tooth. Go figure. Love the side benefit of losing weight without even trying. First time in my life that has happened. LOVE!